Chilean tribe struggles to reclaim land

Gerardo Purran Heiquillan, 20, a Mapuche Indian, poses for a portrait as he rests from dancing at a "Guillatun," a spiritual ceremony to ask for the well-being of the clan and strengthen ties in the Collico community in Ercilla, Chile.

In the past five years, reported acts of violence from a land struggle between Mapuche and Chileans living on their ancestral lands have escalated 10 times over, prompting a police response that the indigenous group say has been heavy handed and abusive.

Now, after decades trying to appease Mapuche demands, Chile's government finds itself at an impasse over how to ease tensions. In the last three years, it has returned 25,000 acres to the Mapuche and encouraged timber companies and other landowners to allow people to till small plots. Yet the violence has only grown as the Mapuche demand the return of some 1 million acres - about the size of Rhode Island.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

A woman cooks during a "Guillatum" spiritual ceremony in the Temucuicui Autonoma community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 10, 2013.

In the past five years, reported acts of violence from the Mapuche land struggle have escalated 10 times over, prompting a police response that the indigenous group say has been heavy handed and abusive.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

A firefighter, left, works to extinguish the flames of the home of a non-Mapuche landowner in Vilcun, on the outskirts of Temuco, Chile, Jan. 4, 2013.

The elderly couple, Werner Luchsinger and wife Vivian Mackay, whose family's landholdings have long been targeted by Mapuche Indians in southern Chile, were killed in the arson attack while trying to defend their home. The Luchsinger family originally emigrated from Switzerland, and bought about 740 acres in the region in 1940.

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Mapuche Indians gather for a "Guillatun" ceremony in the Temucuicui Autonomous community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 10, 2013.

"We're not trying to kick anybody out," said Aucan Huilcaman, a Mapuche leader. "We're not asking for more roads or more seeds. We're asking for our own government because this is our land. It's not anti-Chilean, it's pro-Mapuche."

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Lila Leiva, 95, right, peeks out from her front door as riot police stand guard near the courthouse where Mapuche Indian leaders attend a hearing in Collipulli, Chile, Feb. 12, 2013.

The hearing was for Fernando Millacheo, a member of the Mapuche indigenous community, who was to appear to face charges of robbery, arson and attempted murder.

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Martin Nicolas Conumil, 9, helps his grandfather Carlos Conumil, 84, who is an Indian Chief or "Lonko" in Mapuche, in the Collico community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 15, 2013.

Many of the 800,000 Mapuche who survive among Chile's 16.6 million people inhabit Araucania, the country's poorest region, living on the fringes of timber lands or ranches owned by European settlers.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Part of a forest is burned after a forest fire started by Mapuche radical groups to protest the presence of agricultural firms
on their ancestral land in Temuco, Chile, Feb. 7, 2013.

In addition to more land, the Mapuche have called for the expulsion of timber companies they say damage the environment by planting millions of invasive pines and eucalyptus trees to supply European and U.S. consumers. They also want an apology from the Chilean government for their mistreatment as well as autonomous rule similar to that in the Catalonian region of Spain.

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A man holds a Mapuche Indian flag during a "Guillatum" ceremony in the Collico community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 16, 2013.

For centuries, many tried to claim the verdant homeland of the Mapuche by force, which once sprawled across South America to the Atlantic Ocean.

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A woman who declined to give her name for fear of being identified, poses for a photo at her home in the Araucania region, Chile, Feb. 7, 2013.

The woman's home is guarded by Chilean Carabineros, or national police, to protect her and her family from attacks by Mapuche Indian radical groups. All sides, from the Mapuche to the landowners to timber companies, have lamented the escalating land conflict, with many pointing to police and Mapuche extremists as responsible for most of the destruction.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Barbie dolls lay among other belongings of a Mapuche Indian family at the entrance of their home in the Temucuicui Autonomous community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 12, 2013.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Aliuenco, Cristel, Shukun and Aucaman play on freshly-cut eucalyptus leaves in the Temucuicui Autonomous community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 12, 2013.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Sandra Millacheo, 18, center, and her sister Elsa Millacheo, 22, are released by a judge after being arrested during confrontations with police and held for one day in Collipulli, Chile, Feb. 13, 2013.

The women were arrested along with 17 others after clashing with police outside a court where Fernando Millacheo, a member of the Mapuche indigenous community, was to appear for a hearing on robbery, arson and attempted murder charges.

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Emilia Conumil carries her aunt Rosa Quitriqueo, 85, who suffers from diabetes, hours before the start of the "Guillatun" ceremony in the Collico community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 16, 2013.

Today, many of the 800,000 Mapuche who survive among Chile's 16.6 million people inhabit Araucania, the country's poorest region, living on the fringes of timber lands or ranches owned by European settlers.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Mariluz Colihuinca plays an accordion during a "Guillatun" in the Temucuicui Autonomous community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 10, 2013.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Mapuche Indians from the Temucuicui Autonoma community wait to welcome members of other Mapuche communities to attend a "Guillatun" ceremony in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 9, 2013.

In the last three years, Chile's government has returned about 25,000 acres to the Mapuche and encouraged timber companies and other landowners to allow the Mapuche to till small plots.

Yet violence has only grown as the Mapuche demand the return of nearly 1.9 million acres, larger than the state of Delaware.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

A boy rests on the roots of a tree after swimming in the Cholchol River in Temuco, Chile, Feb. 16, 2013.

Temuco is the capital city of the Araucania region, which Mapuche Indians consider their usurped ancestral land. "We're not trying to kick anybody out," said Aucan Huilcaman, a Mapuche leader. "We're not asking for more roads or more seeds. We're asking for our own government because this is our land. It's not anti-Chilean, it's pro-Mapuche."

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

A framed photo of President Sebastian Pinera stands next to a statue of Mapuche hero Lautaro, on the desk of a general from the region in Temuco, Chile, Feb. 7, 2013.

Pinera has responded to the tensions between Mapuche Indians with land owners and timber companies by enforcing an anti-terrorism law dating back to Gen. Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship - letting suspects be held in isolation without charges and permitting the use of phone taps and secret witnesses in investigations.

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Gardener Alejandro Nunez, 62, picks up the remnants of the home where he worked most of his adult life in Vilcun, on the outskirts of Temuco, Chile, Feb. 8, 2013.

The elderly couple, Werner Luchsinger and wife Vivian Mackay, whose family's landholdings have long been targeted by Mapuche Indians in southern Chile, were killed in an arson attack early Jan. 4 while trying to defend their home.

"It was terribly painful. When they told me that my bosses were burned, I broke down," said Nunez, pointing to the charred remains of the bed where he said the couple had died.

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Mapuche Indian youths holding a flag are reflected in a door behind which a police officer stands guard during a hearing for Juan Ciriaco Millacheo, an Indian leader who was detained in Neuquen, Argentina for his alleged involvement in a 2001 forest fire, in Collipulli, Chile, Feb. 9, 2013.

Many of the 800,000 Mapuche who survive among Chile's 16.6 million people inhabit Araucania, the country's poorest region, living on the fringes of timber lands or ranches owned by European settlers.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Mapuche Indian men rest after dancing during a "Guillatum" ceremony in the Temucuicui Autonomous community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 10, 2013.

Social Development Minister Joaquin Lavin said their goal is to share the traditions and language of the Mapuche with the rest of Chile, pointing to New Zealand's relationship with its indigenous Maori as a model.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Mapuche Indians skin a cow to cook and serve at a "Guillatun" ceremony in the Collico community in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 15, 2013.

The government crackdown related to Mapuche attacks related to their land struggle ensnared Daniel Alveal in 2008 when he was arrested and charged in connection with an armed attack against a timber company official. Eventually absolved, he's now back in his community, where he said he still has a hard time finding a job because of his police record.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Food is lined up to be distributed among the various Mapuche Indian communities during a "Guillatun" ceremony in the Collico community, in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 17, 2013.

Social Development Minister Joaquin Lavin said the goal is to share the traditions and language of the Mapuche with the rest of Chile, pointing to New Zealand's relationship with its indigenous Maori as a model.

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

The head of a slaughtered cow sits in a wheelbarrow to be cooked for a"Guillatun" ceremony in Ercilla, Chile, Feb. 15, 2013.

Today, many of the 800,000 Mapuche who survive among Chile's 16.6 million people inhabit Araucania, the country's poorest region, living on the fringes of timber lands or ranches owned by European settlers.

The Mapuche ultimately secured treaties with the Chilean state recognizing their land as everything south of the Bio Bio River, or roughly the entire southern half of the long, thin country. But in the late 19th century, a second wave of European settlers arrived, and to make way for them, the treaties were breached in a violent takeover called the "Pacification of the Araucania."

Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP

A handwritten letter lays in the charred remains of the home of Werner Luchsinger and wife Vivian Mackay after it was burned down in an attack in Vilcun, on the outskirts of Temuco, Chile, Feb. 8, 2013.

The property belonged to the elderly couple who had lived most of their lives on this land surrounded by soaring mountains and rich, primeval forests. For the attackers, the couple were only the latest in a long line of enemies usurping their ancestral territory.

All sides, from the Mapuche to the landowners to timber companies, have lamented the escalating land conflict, with many pointing to police and Mapuche extremists as responsible for most of the destruction.